For his 50th birthday, Louis Morissette decided to treat himself by offering himself a first solo show of his career. Mr. and Mrs. Everybody can nevertheless find what they are looking for in this one man show very self-referential, provided you are not one of those who loathe the media overexposure of the couple he forms with Véronique Clouter. However, some heartbreakingly stupid gags would have been better off dying with Les Mecs musicales.
Unlike the tour The MorissettesVéro is not on stage this time, but she is no less omnipresent in the first one man show from her husband, Under pressurewhose opening act is provided by their son, Justin.
The extremely famous host is at the heart of many anecdotes. The entire first part of the show is even devoted to retracing the journey of the Clourissettes: from their meeting in 2001, when Véro was already a superstar and Louis an obscure comedian, until today.
Louis Morissette discusses, among other things, the failure of the show VIPcanceled after a single broadcast in 2004, on its conflict with Quebecor following a sketch depicting Pierre Karl Péladeau as Séraphin, then on the controversy surrounding the Bye Bye 2008. He also does not hide the arrest in 2004 of his father-in-law Guy Cloutier. “That day, our world collapsed,” he confides.
Either. But why do you still want to rehash all these memories? Louis Morissette, today one of the most influential men on Quebec television, already has the opportunity to do so on all the TV sets and podcasts where he is invited.
And yet, it’s still the most entertaining part of the show. Because to retrace the key moments of his career, Louis Morissette relies on images taken from the archives of gossip magazines of the time. We smile when we see the sensationalist titles of old magazine covers and the unattractive photos of Louis Morissette that accompanied them. The opportunity to see that Quebecor’s yellow press has long had a grudge against Véro and Louis.
This show sometimes takes on the appearance of settling scores with Pierre Karl and Julie, the former “ power couple » of the empire, always antagonists of Véro and Louis, who sends them several arrows during the one man show. We will never see him in the same room as Julie Snyder, he warns from the start, before making fun of the divorces of the president and CEO of Quebecor. “I can’t wait to see my review in the Journal de Montréal,” he taunts.
Second weaker part
The second part of the show is more personal. And it turns out to be much less successful. During a moment that seems endless to us because it is so embarrassing, Louis Morissette says that Véro had to help him have a bowel movement when he was hospitalized with a dislocated shoulder. Worse: she even had to wipe it off once it was done! Louis Morissette also indulges in vulgarity when he recounts the side effects of anxiolytics, which make him “hard-on”, without him being able to “come”.
Anxiolytics, medications prescribed to treat anxiety, have become part of his life. A workaholic, the prolific producer hit a wall in 2021, when he temporarily lost hearing in one ear due to the pressure he put on himself. Hence the title of this one man show, Under pressure.
This passage of the show is full of lengths, to the point that one would think we were attending a conference rather than a show. Until Louis Morrissette made a joke about the deafness of René Simard’s children. What nerve ! Remember that a sketch about Nathalie Simard was, among other things, the origin of the controversy surrounding Bye Bye in 2008.
But it’s stronger than him. Louis Morissette has always been a provocateur. In the series and films he writes, he always allows himself to be quite harsh in his criticism of society and the couple. He does it intelligently. Too bad he chose a completely different register for his first solo experience on stage.